Hamelin

Surrounded by gentle hills in the Weserbergland lies the small town of Hameln, which is also home to the legend of the Pied Piper of Hameln. The town has a number of really lovely half-timbered and sandstone houses dating from between the 16th and 17th centuries. In particular, the Rat Catcher's House, the Town Hall, the Wedding House and the Dempter's House are interesting little architectural gems built in the Weser Renaissance style with beautiful gable end decorations adorned with diamond stones and voluettes as well as masks and cornices and beautiful ornate bay windows.

Hameln is best known from the tale of the Pied Piper of Hameln, an old story from the Middle Ages that was mostly meant to scare the disobedient children, but the story has been translated into no less than 30 languages, so maybe there is something to the story after all and the disappearance of all the children as they followed the Pied Piper out of town. It will be revealed at Museum Hameln, which also has stage productions of the Pied Piper and puppet shows.

The city's oldest building is the Münster St. Boniface, the church dates back to the 9th century and is definitely worth a visit. Take a stroll into the old town up Osterstrasse and Pferdemarkt and between the narrow alleys that wind around with small inviting cafés and romantic restaurants and cosy beer gardens. There are plenty of charming little shops and for curious shoppers there is certainly something to be found in this shopping paradise.